Various portable game sets have been developed to allow board games such as chess or checkers to be played when a traditional game set is not available or suitable, such as when traveling. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,302 to Butler for a chess set teaches a chess set having a playing board with pockets to receive a tab on the bottom of each playing piece. While the playing board in the Butler chess set retains the chess pieces on the board during standard conditions, this chess set does not rigidly hold the pieces to the board so that the pieces maintain their position during severe weather conditions or when the playing board is turned over. Furthermore, in the Butler device, the pieces are maintained at a 45 degree angle with respect to each square on the playing board which differs from the presentation of a standard chess where the pieces are parallel to the top and bottom edges of the game board. This non-traditional presentation distorts the players' visualization of the pieces on the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 783,293 to Livesey for a Chess or Draught Board and Chess or Draughts Man teaches a foldable game board comprised of a plurality of tubes. The Livesey chess board is adapted to receive playing pieces in spaces between two adjacent tubes and through a slit in the top cover. In the Livesey device, the chess pieces are securely held by the adjacent sides of the two tubes. However, the construction of the game board is complicated and is relatively expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, the tube width makes the board bulky when in use and less desirable for use as a portable game set. Additionally, the board will not effectively retain the game pieces if one or more tubes are damaged.
Accordingly, it is desired to have a portable game set that rigidly holds game pieces in perpendicular fashion and is lightweight and economical to manufacture. Furthermore, it is desired to have a portable game board with improved visual display of the game pieces.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable game set that rigidly holds a plurality of game pieces on the game board.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a portable game set that rigidly holds a plurality of game pieces on the game board and is lightweight.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable game set that rigidly holds a plurality of game pieces on the game board that is economical to manufacture.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a travel game set with improved presentation of the game pieces on the game board.